Wednesday, July 5, 2017

Facing financial difficulties, SoundCloud has actively been seeking a buyer for months. Even after dropping the asking price from $1 billion to $700,000 or less, reported interested from Spotify and others faded. But now come new reports that multiple suitors are actively eying the music streamer.

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Several major players are actively looking at an acquisition of SoundCloud, sources tell the New York Post, and one is the clear frontrunner.

Apple, Google and KKR, who recently offered to invest $250 million in Pandora, are said to be kicking the tires. But France-based music streamer Deezer is said to be showing the most interest.Deezer is owned by billionaire Len Blavatnik’s Access Industries, which also won Warner Music Group. They clearly have the funds, and acquiring Deezer's unique global user base and millions of creator upload tracks and mixes unavailable elsewhere, would transform Deezer from an also-ran streamer into a unique and formidable competitor to Spotify, Apple Music and perhaps even YouTube.

“Deezer is making a serious run,” a senior music source familiar with the talks told The Post. “There will be a lot of consolidation, if you are Deezer or Spotify. SoundCloud’s massive user base — one that is melting as it grapples with a shrinking pile of cash — lets you convert,” into a serious.

One source does add Spotify to the list, but it is hard to see how the music streamer would want to add so much red to its already bleeding balance sheet, particularly pre-IPO.